A study involving the University of Otago, Christchurch, has uncovered a significant connection between low vitamin C levels and increased body weight, raising concerns amid the global rise in obesity.
Published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, the research indicates that heavier individuals need a higher intake of vitamin C to stay healthy, a need not currently met by existing guidelines.
Lead researcher Professor Anitra Carr, who directs the Nutrition in Medicine Research Group at Otago’s Christchurch campus, highlights the insufficiency of current vitamin C recommendations.
“Our data suggests current vitamin C recommended daily allowances internationally are severely underestimated,” says Professor Carr. She points out that these guidelines are based on a healthy 70-kilogram male, with only a 10% allowance for deviation, supposedly covering 97.5% of the population.
However, with rising global body weights, a substantial portion of people are no longer adequately covered by these recommendations.
In New Zealand, the World Health Organization recommends a daily vitamin C intake of 45 milligrams, one of the lowest in the world.
Professor Carr’s findings suggest that for every additional 10 kilograms of body weight, an extra 17 to 22 milligrams of vitamin C is needed. This evidence calls for updated vitamin C intake guidelines both in New Zealand and globally to guide future public health policies.
The study, conducted with researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen and Aberdeen, analyzed data from two major sources: the 2017-2018 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with 2,828 adults, and the 1993-1997 European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk study, which included 20,692 participants.
Results showed that only about two-thirds of participants reached an “adequate” vitamin C level by following the recommended daily allowance. When the intake was adjusted by 10%, only about one-third to half achieved adequate vitamin C status.
Obesity appears to affect the body’s relationship with vitamin C, possibly due to low-grade inflammation that increases oxidative stress and vitamin C turnover in the body.
Additionally, obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, both associated with lower vitamin C levels.
To address this issue, increasing vitamin C intake through diet or supplements is recommended. Professor Carr suggests simple dietary adjustments: “An average-sized apple contains 10 milligrams of vitamin C.
So, for someone weighing 70 to 80 kilograms, eating an extra apple or two could provide the needed 10 to 20 milligrams of daily vitamin C. For those who weigh more, an orange with 70 milligrams of vitamin C or a kiwifruit with 100 milligrams might be the easiest solution.”
For those preferring supplements, she advises checking the vitamin C content in multivitamins, as some contain very low doses. The growing body of evidence underscores the importance of vitamin C in preventing diseases beyond scurvy, including heart disease and cancer.
Moreover, conditions linked to vitamin C deficiency—like increased infection risk, poor wound healing, depression, and fatigue—are more prevalent in individuals with higher body weight.
Professor Carr’s study highlights the need for revised vitamin C intake recommendations to better support the health of the global population, especially as obesity rates continue to climb.
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The research findings can be found in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition.
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